In Hungary, the Trump administration’s overt political backing for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is set against a broader pattern in which Trump’s allies say endorsements have helped like-minded leaders win while critics argue the approach turns parts of foreign policy into electioneering.
The most immediate test comes Sunday, when Hungary voters decide Orbán’s bid for a fifth term. The election is also being viewed through Trump’s relationship history with Orbán, who backed Trump as early as 2016 and later remained an ally even through Trump’s political exile, including Trump’s own past visits to meet Orbán in Florida and Orbán’s public support during Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign. Trump, speaking alongside Vice President JD Vance in Budapest, said, “I love Hungary and I love that Viktor,” as Vance put him on speakerphone at a rally with more than 1,000 Orbán supporters.
Trump’s involvement combines messages and travel. In the run-up to the vote, the president posted “HUNGARY: GET OUT AND VOTE FOR VIKTOR ORBÁN” on Thursday night, and on Friday his administration said it “stands ready to use the full Economic Might of the United States” to help Hungary’s economy if Orbán and Hungarians need assistance. Vance, visiting Budapest for two days, told reporters that the administration would “work with whoever wins the Hungarian election,” while also saying Orbán “is going to win the next election in Hungary,” as he added that he felt “very confident about that and about our continued positive relationship.” MSI previously reported on Vance’s approach as the vote neared.
The White House has defended the level of engagement as transparency. In a statement, spokeswoman Anna Kelly said President Trump is “a great American statesman who will speak or work with anyone, and he makes no secret about those he likes or supports,” adding that “Many individuals who align with President Trump’s ideology are getting elected to top offices around the world because everyone wants to replicate his immeasurable success on behalf of the American people.”
Critics, however, describe the overt approach as a break from what they see as a tradition of avoiding explicit U.S. involvement in other countries’ elections and as a political overlay on bilateral policy. David Pressman, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Hungary during the Biden administration, said the president’s efforts have “cheapen[ed] a relationship.” Pressman said Hungarian positions on key issues such as Ukraine have become “infused through a political U.S. rubric,” rather than being articulated as sovereign foreign policy.
Pressman’s critique reflects a wider argument made by critics that Trump uses endorsements to reward loyal, like-minded leaders and, in doing so, shifts foreign-policy tools away from advancing U.S. interests. The AP described Trump in his second term as publicly flexing political influence abroad on a scale critics say has not matched other presidents, using endorsements and other tools while also promoting an image of being a kingmaker who makes foreign leaders seek his approval.
Trump has framed his own approach as a talent for backing winners, saying “I love it when I give endorsements and people win,” including at a summit with Latin American leaders he had backed. His picks often align with policy preferences, the AP reported, including Orbán and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on immigration-related issues, and Argentine President Javier Milei as a symbol for his drive to cut spending—an example used to illustrate zeal in austerity and reform efforts.
The AP also pointed to episodes in other countries where Trump’s support went beyond endorsements. In October, Trump was described as telling a reporter at a White House lunch hosting Milei that “If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina. OK?” The administration, the report said, had previously finalized a $20 billion currency swap line before Milei’s visit amid criticism from U.S. farmers and Democratic lawmakers. In Honduras’ elections, Trump emphasized that “the United States will not be throwing good money after bad” if a preferred candidate lost, and he later announced a pardon for former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, describing it as linked to political success after Tito Asfura’s election.
The Trump administration’s stance toward European engagement and foreign-election involvement is also being compared to past U.S. actions. The AP noted that the Central Intelligence Agency under President Dwight D. Eisenhower helped engineer a 1954 coup in Guatemala, and that rare cases include former President Bill Clinton’s 1993 backing of Boris Yeltsin’s move to dissolve parliament and set up new elections. Still, James Lindsay, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said in the AP account that Trump’s political engagement abroad was “without precedent,” arguing, “Trump is just different than other presidents, and he’s viewed differently than other presidents, and that is a strength you can take advantage.”
Some U.S. officials who have criticized the approach also tied it to a broader doctrine. Sen. Tim Kaine said Trump’s involvement in elections abroad should be seen as part of what the administration called the “‘Trump Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine” in a national security strategy released in December. Kaine called the doctrine “poison language” for Latin America, saying it is “violating best practice,” and “America has been deeply involved in regime support, opposition and regime change in the Americas for centuries, and it is not a legacy that we should be proud of.”
Even as the Hungary vote becomes the focus for Trump’s influence with an ally, the AP said polls had shown Orbán trailing in independent surveys ahead of the April 12 election, raising the question of whether Trump’s sway will measure up to the confidence his officials have projected publicly.